It pisses me off I have to watch and write up two games. They were shitty games too. You know they’re bad when you’re bored watching the all-action edited version. It looks like it was just these last two weeks, though. I was worried it was now going to be a thing, the way they snuck in Thursday night on us 15 years ago.
. . .
The Eagles are really good. I know you know that, but I hadn’t watched an entire game of theirs this season until this morning. They open big holes for their backs, have big-play receivers and a mobile quarterback.
Seems like AJ Brown and Devonta Smith will just alternate unpredictably having good games. They’ll need an opponent to shoot it out with them for both to go off, and next week’s game against the Football Team probably isn’t it.
D’Andre Swift is so much faster and quicker than Kenneth Gainwell, though Swift had huge holes through which to run. I still have a Rashaad Penny share, and I’d like to see him go to work in this offense. I’ll hang onto him as long as I can.
I started Danny Dimes Thursday night at the last minute over a concussed Anthony Richardson (DNP) and Baker Mayfield who I picked up off waivers. Mayfield got 13.5 points thanks to that borderline garbage-time TD to Mike Evans and the two-point conversion. Dimes got only 5.35, thanks to a late forced pick. Obviously, I wish I had started Mayfield, but in retrospect the decision wasn’t crazy.
Rachaad White didn’t do much, but he broke some tackles and looked okay to me against a tough front. I had briefly put him in the Mike Davis box, but the only Mike Davis so far is Alexander Mattison who I knew was Mike Davis, but took him in the seventh round anyway. Besides, all my Week 3 declarations of who is and isn’t Mike Davis (former ATL starting RB people took in Round 5 two years ago because he was the only game in town, who sucked and lost his job) will look ridiculous a month from now.
It annoys me I got Chris Godwin everywhere, but it’s Mike Evans for whom Mayfield only has eyes. Godwin almost scored a TD though and caught a two-point conversion. Godwin’s and Smith’s weak games cost me a W in the Primetime, something that’s irritating me as I type this, but that team is good. I just have to keep grinding and not think about it.
Joe Burrow looked more or less like himself, but didn’t attempt many deep throws.
Joe Mixon ground out an okay game in a Mike Davis sort of way. Mixon is an old-school power back in a league of De’Von Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs, Kenneth Walker, Bijan Robinson and Travis Etiennes, but let’s see who’s left standing in December. I avoided Mixon like the plague (bubonic, not covid), but he seems fine. Mixon actually ran a 4.43 in 2017, but doesn’t seem especially quick these days.
Ja’Marr Chase (15-12-141-0) sure gets a lot of targets and catches almost all of them. Tee Higgins got an OPI, had a drop and wasn’t as involved.
Matthew Stafford looked good to me, despite the pedestrian stats and the picks. He’s throwing a nice ball, but his offensive line didn’t hold up in the second half.
With Cooper Kupp out, the Rams have a narrow tree — just Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell and Tyler Higbee. I finally got to see Nacua, and he’s okay, but more Robert Woods than Kupp. The 165-pound Atwell was mocked as a second-round pick but he looks like a player. Big receivers were in fashion for a while, but now low-BMI quick ones like Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Chris Olave and Diontae Johnson have carved out a place in the league. Although Atwell’s frame might be pushing against the limit of this trend.
Speaking of small players, 5-9, 194-pound Kyren Williams looked okay, but didn’t have much room. With Cam Akers gone, Williams being that little (and slow — 4.65 40) and backup Ronnie Rivers being more or less his clone, maybe someone else gets a shot before long. No idea who, but Williams is a long shot to carry the load all year IMO.